Victims Family Wants Stand Your Ground Changes

Columbia, SC (WLTX) - The state house steps once again Thursday were filled by a group who wants the stand your ground law to go away in our state.

"The stand your ground law protected the guy who killed my nephew," said Thomas Niles.

Niles' nephew, Darrell Niles, was killed by a gun shot in 2010.

The man who fired the gun said he was standing his ground.

"We have a lot of young innocent men who are dying because of this law," Niles said.

Family and friends looking for justice for the death of the teenager are just one of a number of groups who have rallied in recent months for the law to be repealed or change.

"Personally, my perspective is self defense is very much a case by case scenario," said Colin Miller, a USC Law Professor.

Miller has studied cases like Darrell's and says the way the law is written now, it creates a presumption of self-defense.

"The problem is that I think the South Carolina legislature in passing the law didn't envision the multitude of scenarios that could arise where trying to force square pegs into round holes produces results that are uncomfortable," Miller said.

Lawmakers are split on what to do with Stand Your Ground. Some say the law is fine the way it is while others have written legislation to change or totally repeal it.